FOUR JUMP TO TOP OF BOYS DIVISION AT COLONIALThree 76s tied for Girls Division lead

JACKSON, Miss. - Martin Bunt, Philip Francis, Paul
Haley and Kevin O'Connell all fired a 3-under-par 69 to tie
for the lead in the Boys Division after Tuesday's first round
of the Nike Golf Junior All-Star Classic at Colonial presented
by Mississippi Farm Bureau.

In the Girls Division, Tia Gannon of Hilton Head Island, S.
C., Brittany Nelson of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and Alexandrea
Schulte of Broken Arrow, Okla., posted matching scores of
4-over-par 76 to claim a share of the lead.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Nike
Golf Junior All-Star Classic at Colonial presented by Mississippi
Farm Bureau consists of 84 players from 26 states. The tournament
is being contested at Colonial Country Club, which plays to
6,578 yards for the boys 5,790 yards for the girls.

Bunt, a native of Pensacola, Fla., came out of the box swinging.
He birdied the first three holes and four of his first five.
Bunt finished with a 3-under-par 33 on the front nine and
shot an even-par 36 on the back, including a birdie on No.
10.

"I was hitting my woods good (Tuesday) and keeping it
in the fairway," Bunt said. "I could improve on
some of my putting, especially my 10-20 footers."

Francis of Scottsdale, Ariz., also had his game working on
the front nine. He carded a bogey-free 2-under-par 34. Francis
continued his solid play on the back nine with a 1-under-par
35.

"I'm a pretty good ball striker," Francis said.
"If I set myself up for my second shot in the center
of the fairway, usually it'll come through well."

Haley of Dallas, only needed 11 putts on his first nine, the
back nine, en route a 3-under-par 33. He recorded birdies
on Nos. 10, 13, 17 and 18. Though his putter cooled down in
the second half of his round, he still turned in an even-par
36, on his second nine.

"You have to be in the fairway because trees line every
hole," Haley said. "But you have to take advantage
of the par-5s and all the short par-4s, the ones under 350
(yards)."

O'Connell, a native of Raleigh, N.C., also started off quickly.
After paring the first three holes, he birdied the fourth
through the sixth. O'Connell, who scored a 3-under-par 33
on the front nine, made only one bogey in his round.

"I've got to keep driving the ball well," O'Connell
said. "I have to make my par putts because you are going
to miss some greens."

Bradley Nelligan of Tulsa, Okla., and Raj Nahal of Longwood,
Fla., are the two other players who are under-par after the
first round. They are two shots off the pace at 1-under-par
71.

In the Girls Division, Gannon didn't make many mistakes in
her round. Despite consecutive bogeys on the first and the
second to begin her second nine, Gannon fired a 2-over-par
38 on both sides of the course. She recorded a birdie on the
par-4 sixth.

"I'm going to have to play solid and aim at shooting
par," Gannon said about what she needs to do to stay
in the lead.

Nelson, who began on No. 10, recovered from a tough start
to join the leaders at 4-over-par. She bogeyed the 10th through
the 12th en route to a 4-over-par 40. However, she picked
up an even-par 36 on her second nine, including two birdies.
She said putting and chipping would be the key to continued
success in the
week.

"The greens are so small," Nelson said. "You're
going to have a lot of chips and a lot of putts, and you have
to make a lot of them."

Schulte, who played alongside Nelson, shot a 3-over-par 39
on her first nine holes, and as a result of two bogeys and
a birdie on her second nine, she finished 4-over-par for the
day.

"I was not depressed because of the way I was playing,"
Schulte said. "I've got two more days ahead of me."

Tournament play will continue at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Tee
times will continue on No. 1 and No. 10 until 9:27 a.m. For
more information on the Nike Golf Junior All-Star Classic
at Colonial presented by Mississippi Farm Bureau, contact
AJGA tournament headquarters at (601) 956-8567.

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